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De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter

De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a light military transport aircraft from Canada.

De Havilland Canada had had great success with their DHC-2 Beaver and wanted to take advantage of their experience by building a larger aircraft with superior engine power. The new aircraft was given the designation DHC-3 Otter, and after a comprehensive programme of tests, it arrived on the market in 1952. A total of 466 of these aircraft were built. Many of the 359 that were sold for military purposes, finally ended up on civilian markets.

The Otter was the natural choice for the Airforce when it was decided that they should replace their “Norseman” aircraft. The new planes arrived in Norway in the spring of 1954, and were assembled and tested at Kjeller. The DHC Otter was used for the most part as a liaison plane, and was used by the Airforce from 1954 to 1967.

DHC-3 Otter in NorwayThe Widerøes flyveselskap airline company built up a network of services in North Norway with the help of seaplanes. In the early years, the company used mainly Norseman aircraft, but in the 1950’s, business increased considerably, and the company purchased the more modern DHC-3 Otters, and put them into operation. Widerøes sold their last DHC-3 in 1971, when the STOL airfields became operational and the seaplane network had been phased out.